Denture brush



Ju'he 30, 1931, I s". M. EDISON,

- DENTURE BRUSH Filed 00%. 9. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l W a 1 1 I W .mmmw

h w v I June 30, 1931. s. M. EDISON 1,812,626

DEN'IURE BRUSH Filed Oct. 9, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet.- 2

a reachinginto the crevices other portions of the plate. However,

Patented June 30, 1931 PATENT OFFICE SYLVAN MAURICE EDISON, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS DENTURE BRUSH I Application filed Detober 9, 1929. Serial No. 398,286.

' My invention relates to brushes and has special reference to brushes of the type adapted to be employed in cleaning and polishing artificial denture structures such as plates,

' bridges, and the like.

Dentures and particularly full plates, require constant cleaning and care in order to keep them sanitary and insure their proper adherence to the gum. The ordinary types of brushes have been found unsuited for the purpose of cleaning different parts for, while one brush may clean a certain portion of the plate admirably, it may be lll suited for and openings of among the great ority of wearers of artificial teeth one finds both a complete upper or lower denture or removable bridge and c, for thepurpose of cleaning these parts a va- 213' of brushes have heretofore been required in order that all of the small openings and crevices in both the full denture and the partial denture may be reached. r I have, therefore, aimed to provide a denture brush of improved characteristics capable of cleaning not only the large grooves of full dentures but the small hooks and crooks, crevices and turns of the partial denture or riety removable bridge.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a denture brush having one end supported in a handle and the other end proj ect ing unattached and bearing a plurality of tapered bristles.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a brush having a horseshoelike shape wherein a portion of the bristles are cylindrically formed of substantially uniform diameter, the diameters, thereoftaperture thereof may ing off near one end to a small tuft of bristles.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a brush wherein the curvabe easily altered by the user to fit the size and type of teeth upon which it is to be used.

Other objects and advantages of my improved construction will become apparent 60. from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which crook is employed in cleaning the front of an upper denture;

Fig. 4 is a view partially in section showing the manner in which the outer side of the crook is employed in cleaning the groove of a full lower denture;

Fig. 5 is a view of a lower denture having a small groove showing the manner in which the small end of the brush engages therewith in cleaning action;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 and shows the manner in which the brush cooperates with the groove in cleaning action;

Fig. 7 shows in section the manner in which the longer bristles act to clean lower dentures having large grooves; and

Fig. 8 shows a removable bridge and the manner in which the free end of the brush may be employed in reaching the various portions thereof.

The brush consists of a twisted wire frame 10 having the bristles held between two strands of wire twisted spirally. The frame is bent through a horseshoe bend as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to provide leg 11 and leg 12. The leg 12 is supported in a handle 13 provided with a ferrule 14 and is supplied with a plurality of bristles 15 of uniform length which are positioned between the two strands of twisted wire and extend to a point beyond the center of the crook 16. The leg 11 is pro vided with a plurality of bristles 17, joining the bristles 15, the lengths of which gradually taper downward to the end of the frame. The bristles on the direct end 17 of the frame are made slightly longer than those adjoining to provide a tuft which extends downward covering the end of the frame.

site the ferrule 14 to provide a brush having the center of the denture.

legs of approximately the same len th. The distance between the crook 16 and t 1e ferrule 14 should be sufiicient to permit the bristles on the crook 16 to extend to the front of the largest type of plate without striking the ferrule 14 on the rear thereof, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1.

Examination of the figures will clearly show the advantages of my improved denture brush. Referring to Fig. 1 18 represents a complete lower denture and is providedwith a groove 19 into which the gums of the wearer fit. A raised portion 20, conforming to the curvature of the roof of the mouth, exists at In actual use this groove 19, because of constant contact with the gums, becomes slimy and develops a coating of mucus calculi. lVhen this occurs the denture fails to cling to the roof of the mouth and constantly drops. It is, therefore, essential that this portion of the denture be kept absolutely clean. This may be accomplished with my brush in a manner clearly shown in this figure. The horseshoe bend is of such slope as to closely fit this groove throughout its entire length, a slight oscillating movement of the brush in this position causing the bristles to be forced into the small crevices and openings, thoroughly cleansing the groove. The raised portion 20 may be aptly cleaned by inverting the denture 18 and inserting the crook of the brush therein. Sidewise movement of the brush in this position will serve to clean this portion of the denture. In cleaning the teeth 21, themselves, and the forward side of the denture the latter may be inserted between the two legs of the brush as shown in Fig. 3 in which position sidewise movement of the brush will cause the denture to be cleaned against the inner side of the bristles.

The manner in which the brush is employed in cleaning lower full dentures is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Here the denture consists of an almost wedge shaped horseshoe member 22 having teeth 23 and a lower groove 24 into which the gums of the wearer are adapted to fit in supporting the denture. In Fig. 4 the position of the brush is shown when employed to clean dentures having an opening 24. It will here be seen that the crock of the brush having the longer bristles is inserted in the groove 24 and drawn back and forth from end to end of the groove. However, when the denture is such that the opening 24 is small the end 11 of the brush may be inserted in the groove and employed to clean the latter, in place of the longer bristles in the crook 16.

Figs. 6 and 7 show the manner in which the different portions of the brush engage the groove 24, Fig. 7 showing the crook 16 inserted therein and Fig. 6 showing the end 11 inserted therein.

The upper portion of the denture including the teeth may advantageously be cleaned by placing the denture, teeth uppermost, between the legs of the brush in which position the brush may be moved back and forth along the denture. The position of the brush if this operation is shown in dotted lines in The tip of the brush may also be employed to advantage in cleaning the clasps and metal portions of a removable bridge as shown in Fig. 8. Here a bridge 25 having teeth 26 and a number of clasps 27, 28, 29 and 30, is shown. It will be seen that the ordinary type of brush would be ill adapted to clean both teeth 26 and clasps such as that shown at 27 or 29. However, because of the particular construction of my brush the end 17 with its tuft of bristles may be advantageously employed for this purpose. The end itself may be inserted into the claspas shown at 28 and 29 or the small tuft of bristles positioned at the end of the brush may be inserted in the smaller openings to remove the mucus and slime.

While I have thus described. and illustrated a particular embodiment of my invention I am aware that numerous changes and alterations may be made therein without materially departing from the spirit of the invention and I do not wish to be limited except as required by the prior art and the scope of the appended claim in which I claim:

A brush for artificial dentures which includes, a twisted wire brush frame having a free end and a handle end, said frame being bent through substantially a horseshoe bend intermediate its ends to provide a curved por tion and two parallelly disposed legs, a handle on said handle and coaxial with respect to one of said legs, bristles of uniform length distributed upon said frame from the end in said handle to a point beyond said bend, adapted to be employed in cleaning the m grooves and surfaces of a full denture, bristles from said point to said free end of progressively shorter length to provide a cone shaped end, and a tuft of bristles positioned directly over said free end, said tuft and said bristles of progressively shorter length being adapted to be employed for the cleaning of the clasps and grooves of a partial denture.

In witness of the foregoing I aflix my signature.

SYLVAN MAURICE EDISON. 

